The Average White Band
Encyclopedia
Average White Band is a Scottish
funk
and R&B
band
, who had a series of soul
and disco
hit
s between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million selling song, "Pick Up the Pieces". The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett
. They have influenced others such as the Brand New Heavies
, and been sampled
by various musicians including the Beastie Boys
, TLC
, The Beatnuts
, Too Short, Ice Cube
, Eric B. & Rakim
, Nas
and A Tribe Called Quest
, as well as Arrested Development - in turn making them the fifteenth most sampled act in history. As of 2010, and almost forty years after their formation, they continue to perform.
, and Malcolm "Molly" Duncan
, with Onnie McIntyre, Michael Rosen(trumpet), Roger Ball
and Robbie McIntosh
, joining them in the original line-up. Hamish Stuart
quickly replaced Rosen. Duncan and Ball, affectionately known as the Dundee Horns, studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art
(now part of the University of Dundee
), and were previously members of Mogul Thrash
. Gorrie and McIntyre had been members of Forever More
. McIntyre and McIntosh were used as session musician
s on Chuck Berry
's recording of "My Ding-a-Ling
".
The band's breakthrough was a support slot at Eric Clapton
's comeback concert in 1973. MCA Records
released their debut album, Show Your Hand
, which sold poorly. Bruce McCaskill, who was Clapton's tour manager, liked the band's music and agreed to manage
them. He borrowed money to take them to the US
and to promote
them. McCaskill had many contacts from his days with Clapton and managed to get Atlantic Records
to sign them. The band relocated to Los Angeles
, signed to Atlantic and released the follow-up, AWB
, better known as "The White Album". This album
was the first of many with renowned producer
Arif Mardin
, and reached #1
in the US Hot 100
chart
.
McIntosh died of an accidental heroin overdose at a Los Angeles
party on 23 September 1974. Gorrie also overdosed, but Cher
kept him conscious until medical help arrived. The NME
reported in January 1975 that AWB played a benefit show for McIntosh's widow at the Marquee Club
in London
. McIntosh was replaced by Steve Ferrone
(previously of Bloodstone
, and, like McIntosh, previously with Brian Auger
's Oblivion Express).
In 1975, the single
"Pick Up The Pieces" - taken from the #1 AWB
album - reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100
chart. The song knocked Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" out of #1 and sold over one million copies. It was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A.
in March 1975. The band followed up with LP
s Cut the Cake
(1975) and Soul Searching
(1976), both big sellers and yielding further Top 40 singles. Cut the Cake was dedicated by the surviving band members to McIntosh's memory. Their next LP, Benny & Us, was a collaboration with Ben E. King
.
After several more albums, AWB's audience and sales dwindled. Their 1980 disco
hit "Let's Go Round Again" (UK #12), was covered
in the late 1990s by Louise. The group initially disbanded by 1982. Ferrone went on to work with Duran Duran
whilst Hamish Stuart joined Paul McCartney
's touring group. In 1985 Gorrie released a solo album, Sleepless Nights. Gorrie, McIntyre, and Ball reunited in 1989 to record Aftershock
, but Ball left the band shortly after its release. and was replaced by Fred Vigdor (aka Freddy V). Eliot Lewis co-wrote with Gorrie on this album and joined the band, replacing lead singer Hamish Stuart.
Average White Band has continued recording (Soul Tattoo 1997, Face to Face, 1999) and touring since. When Eliot Lewis left the band in September 2002 to pursue other musical opportunities, he was replaced by Klyde Jones.
Their line-up then included Alan Gorrie (bass, lead vocals), Klyde Jones (guitar, keyboard, lead vocals), Onnie McIntyre (guitar, vocals), Freddy V (sax, keyboard, vocals) and Brian Dunne (drums). Gorrie and McIntyre are the only remaining original members of the band.
Dunne was replaced by Rocky Bryant as drummer for the 2006 tour.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, who had a series of soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
s between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million selling song, "Pick Up the Pieces". The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
. They have influenced others such as the Brand New Heavies
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing, a suburb of London, England.-Biography:The Brand New Heavies began in the 1980s as an instrumental acid jazz group called Brother International....
, and been sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by various musicians including the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, TLC
TLC (band)
TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...
, The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...
, Too Short, Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
, Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim were a hip-hop duo composed of DJ Eric Barrier and MC Rakim .Hailing from Long Island, New York, the pair are generally considered by hip hop enthusiasts to be one of the most influential and innovative groups in the genre...
, Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, as well as Arrested Development - in turn making them the fifteenth most sampled act in history. As of 2010, and almost forty years after their formation, they continue to perform.
Career
AWB was formed in early 1972 by Alan GorrieAlan Gorrie
Alan Gorrie is a Scottish bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and singer. He is a founding member of the Average White Band and remains one of two original members in the group's current line-up....
, and Malcolm "Molly" Duncan
Malcolm Duncan (musician)
Malcolm "Molly" Duncan is a tenor saxophonist and founding member of Average White Band.Duncan has recorded with Ray Charles, Tom Petty, Buddy Guy, Ben E...
, with Onnie McIntyre, Michael Rosen(trumpet), Roger Ball
Roger Ball (musician)
Roger Ball is a Scottish saxophonist, keyboardist, songwriter and arranger.-Biography:Ball attended the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee from 1962, studying architecture. While there he met Malcolm “Molly” Duncan and Alan Gorrie...
and Robbie McIntosh
Robbie McIntosh (drummer)
Robbie McIntosh was a Scottish drummer from Dundee, who was a founder-member of the Average White Band. His father was American born actor, Bonar Colleano, who had a successful career in films,especially in the U.K...
, joining them in the original line-up. Hamish Stuart
Hamish Stuart
Hamish Stuart is a guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer.- Biography :Stuart had recorded a couple of singles with his first band, the Dream Police, before he was invited to join the recently formed Average White Band in June 1972.A member of AWB from 1972 to 1982, he went on to...
quickly replaced Rosen. Duncan and Ball, affectionately known as the Dundee Horns, studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is an integral part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom and has an outstanding reputation in both practice and research.-History:Attempts were made to...
(now part of the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
), and were previously members of Mogul Thrash
Mogul Thrash
Mogul Thrash was a progressive rock band from the United Kingdom active in the early 1970s.-Biography:British jazz-rock band Mogul Thrash evolved from James Litherland's Brotherhood, which in addition to guitarist Litherland also featured guitarist/reedist Michael Rosen , drummer Bill Harrison and...
. Gorrie and McIntyre had been members of Forever More
Forever More (band)
Forever More was a late 1960s and early 1970s Scottish progressive rock band, featuring Alan Gorrie and Onnie Mair , who would later go on to form the Average White Band...
. McIntyre and McIntosh were used as session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s on Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's recording of "My Ding-a-Ling
My Ding-a-Ling
"My Ding-a-Ling" was the title of a novelty song recorded by Chuck Berry, and his only U.S. number-one single on the pop charts. Later that year the song, in a longer unedited form, was on the album The London Chuck Berry Sessions...
".
The band's breakthrough was a support slot at Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's comeback concert in 1973. MCA Records
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
released their debut album, Show Your Hand
Show Your Hand (album)
Show Your Hand is the first album by Scottish funk band Average White Band, released in 1973 by MCA Records. The album was re-issued in 1975 with a new title, Put It Where You Want It, a different opening track and new cover artwork....
, which sold poorly. Bruce McCaskill, who was Clapton's tour manager, liked the band's music and agreed to manage
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
them. He borrowed money to take them to the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and to promote
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
them. McCaskill had many contacts from his days with Clapton and managed to get Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
to sign them. The band relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, signed to Atlantic and released the follow-up, AWB
AWB (album)
AWB is the second studio album by the Scottish funk and soul band Average White Band, released in August 1974 . An enormous best-seller, AWB was the Average White Band's breakthrough record, stunning many listeners with its soul and funk coming from a Scottish band.AWB topped Billboard's Pop...
, better known as "The White Album". This album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was the first of many with renowned producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
, and reached #1
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in the US Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
.
McIntosh died of an accidental heroin overdose at a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
party on 23 September 1974. Gorrie also overdosed, but Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
kept him conscious until medical help arrived. The NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported in January 1975 that AWB played a benefit show for McIntosh's widow at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. McIntosh was replaced by Steve Ferrone
Steve Ferrone
Steven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
(previously of Bloodstone
Bloodstone (band)
Bloodstone is a former American R&B, soul, and funk group, most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. The band charted thirteen songs between 1973 and 1984.-Biography:...
, and, like McIntosh, previously with Brian Auger
Brian Auger
Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...
's Oblivion Express).
In 1975, the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Pick Up The Pieces" - taken from the #1 AWB
AWB (album)
AWB is the second studio album by the Scottish funk and soul band Average White Band, released in August 1974 . An enormous best-seller, AWB was the Average White Band's breakthrough record, stunning many listeners with its soul and funk coming from a Scottish band.AWB topped Billboard's Pop...
album - reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The song knocked Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" out of #1 and sold over one million copies. It was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the R.I.A.A.
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in March 1975. The band followed up with LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
s Cut the Cake
Cut the Cake (album)
Cut the Cake is the third album released by Average White Band, released in 1975. This album included the hit single "Cut the Cake", which reached #10 on the Billboard pop singles chart....
(1975) and Soul Searching
Soul Searching (Average White Band album)
-Track listing:#Overture 2:14 #Love Your Life 4:49 #I'm The One 4:18 #A Love Of Your Own 5:28 #Queen Of My Soul 6:05 #Soul Searching 3:15 #Goin' Home 4:36 #Everybody's Darling 3:31 #Would You Stay 5:33 #Sunny Days 3:14...
(1976), both big sellers and yielding further Top 40 singles. Cut the Cake was dedicated by the surviving band members to McIntosh's memory. Their next LP, Benny & Us, was a collaboration with Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
.
After several more albums, AWB's audience and sales dwindled. Their 1980 disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
hit "Let's Go Round Again" (UK #12), was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
in the late 1990s by Louise. The group initially disbanded by 1982. Ferrone went on to work with Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
whilst Hamish Stuart joined Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's touring group. In 1985 Gorrie released a solo album, Sleepless Nights. Gorrie, McIntyre, and Ball reunited in 1989 to record Aftershock
Aftershock (Average White Band album)
Aftershock is the tenth album by the R&B band Average White Band.-Track listing:# "The Spirit of Love" # "Sticky Situation" # "Aftershock" # "Love at First Sight" # "I'll Get Over You"...
, but Ball left the band shortly after its release. and was replaced by Fred Vigdor (aka Freddy V). Eliot Lewis co-wrote with Gorrie on this album and joined the band, replacing lead singer Hamish Stuart.
Average White Band has continued recording (Soul Tattoo 1997, Face to Face, 1999) and touring since. When Eliot Lewis left the band in September 2002 to pursue other musical opportunities, he was replaced by Klyde Jones.
Their line-up then included Alan Gorrie (bass, lead vocals), Klyde Jones (guitar, keyboard, lead vocals), Onnie McIntyre (guitar, vocals), Freddy V (sax, keyboard, vocals) and Brian Dunne (drums). Gorrie and McIntyre are the only remaining original members of the band.
Dunne was replaced by Rocky Bryant as drummer for the 2006 tour.
Band members
- Onnie McIntyre (born Owen McIntyre, 25 September 1945, LennoxtownLennoxtownLennoxtown is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland at the foot of the Campsie Fells, which are just to the north.It is now part of the East Dunbartonshire council area but prior to 1975 was in the county of Stirling....
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) — vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
/ rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
. - Alan GorrieAlan GorrieAlan Gorrie is a Scottish bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and singer. He is a founding member of the Average White Band and remains one of two original members in the group's current line-up....
(born 19 July 1946, PerthPerth, ScotlandPerth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, Scotland) — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and vocals. - Malcolm "Molly" DuncanMalcolm Duncan (musician)Malcolm "Molly" Duncan is a tenor saxophonist and founding member of Average White Band.Duncan has recorded with Ray Charles, Tom Petty, Buddy Guy, Ben E...
(born Malcolm Duncan, 24 August 1945, MontroseMontrose, AngusMontrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
, Scotland) — tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
. - Roger BallRoger Ball (musician)Roger Ball is a Scottish saxophonist, keyboardist, songwriter and arranger.-Biography:Ball attended the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee from 1962, studying architecture. While there he met Malcolm “Molly” Duncan and Alan Gorrie...
(born 4 June 1944, Broughty FerryBroughty FerryBroughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
, Scotland) — keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
/ saxophonist - up to 1989. - Hamish StuartHamish StuartHamish Stuart is a guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer.- Biography :Stuart had recorded a couple of singles with his first band, the Dream Police, before he was invited to join the recently formed Average White Band in June 1972.A member of AWB from 1972 to 1982, he went on to...
(born 8 October 1949, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland) — guitar, bass guitar and vocals - up to 1982. - Robbie McIntoshRobbie McIntosh (drummer)Robbie McIntosh was a Scottish drummer from Dundee, who was a founder-member of the Average White Band. His father was American born actor, Bonar Colleano, who had a successful career in films,especially in the U.K...
(born 6 May 1950, DundeeDundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland — died 23 September 1974) — (drums) - up to 1974. - Steve FerroneSteve FerroneSteven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
(born 25 April 1950, BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England) — drummerDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- 1974 to 1982.
Albums
- Show Your HandShow Your Hand (album)Show Your Hand is the first album by Scottish funk band Average White Band, released in 1973 by MCA Records. The album was re-issued in 1975 with a new title, Put It Where You Want It, a different opening track and new cover artwork....
(1973) (re-issued in 1975 as Put It Where You Want It) USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#216 & #39 - AWBAWB (album)AWB is the second studio album by the Scottish funk and soul band Average White Band, released in August 1974 . An enormous best-seller, AWB was the Average White Band's breakthrough record, stunning many listeners with its soul and funk coming from a Scottish band.AWB topped Billboard's Pop...
(1974) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#6, USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#1 - Cut the CakeCut the Cake (album)Cut the Cake is the third album released by Average White Band, released in 1975. This album included the hit single "Cut the Cake", which reached #10 on the Billboard pop singles chart....
(1975) UK #28 - Soul SearchingSoul Searching (Average White Band album)-Track listing:#Overture 2:14 #Love Your Life 4:49 #I'm The One 4:18 #A Love Of Your Own 5:28 #Queen Of My Soul 6:05 #Soul Searching 3:15 #Goin' Home 4:36 #Everybody's Darling 3:31 #Would You Stay 5:33 #Sunny Days 3:14...
(1976) UK #60 - Person to Person (live) (1976)
- Benny & Us (1977)
- Warmer Communications (1978)
- Feel No Fret (1979) UK #15
- Shine (1980) UK #14
- Volume VIII (1980)
- Cupid's in Fashion (1982)
- Sleepless Nights (1985 - Alan Gorrie solo album)
- AftershockAftershock (Average White Band album)Aftershock is the tenth album by the R&B band Average White Band.-Track listing:# "The Spirit of Love" # "Sticky Situation" # "Aftershock" # "Love at First Sight" # "I'll Get Over You"...
(1989) - Let's Go Round Again - The Best of the Average White Band (1994) UK #38
- Soul Tattoo (1997)
- Face To Face (live) (1999)
- Tonight (DVD) (2002)
- Living in Colour (2003)
- Greatest and Latest (2005)
- Soul & the City, Recorded Live at B. B. King's (2006)
- Times Squared, Recorded Live at B. B. King's (2009)
Hit singles
- "Pick Up the Pieces" (1974) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#6, US PopBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#1, US R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
#5 - "Cut the Cake" (1975) UK #31, US Pop #10, US R&B #7
- "If I Ever Lose this Heaven" (1975) US Pop #39, US R&B #25
- "School Boy Crush" (1975) US Pop #33, US R&B #22
- "Queen of My Soul" (1976) UK #23, US Pop #40, US R&B #21
- "A Love On Your Own" (1976) US Pop #101, US R&B #35
- "Cloudy" (live version) (1977) US R&B #55
- "Get It Up" (1977) - with Ben E. KingBen E. KingBenjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
US R&B #21 - "Your Love is A Miracle" (1978) US R&B #33
- "Walk On By" (1979) UK #46, US #92
- "When Will You Be Mine" (1979) UK #49, US R&B #33
- "Let's Go Round Again" (1980) UK #12, US Pop #53, US R&B #33
- "For You For Love" (1980) UK #46, US Pop #106, US R&B #60
- "Let's Go Round Again" (remixRemixA remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
) (1994) UK #56
Other contributions
- UpUp (Morrissey Mullen album)Up was the debut album by British jazz-fusion duo Morrissey-Mullen. Produced by Herbie Mann, it was recorded in New York in 1976, and featured the Average White Band as the rhythm section, together with other leading New York-based session musicians....
(1976) - Morrissey - MullenMorrissey - MullenMorrissey Mullen was a British jazz-funk/fusion group of the 1970s and 1980s.Considered one of the most popular jazz groups in London, the band was led by Dick Morrissey on tenor and soprano saxes and flute, and Jim Mullen on guitar, who joined forces in 1975, their playing together for sixteen ... - The Atlantic Family Live at MontreuxThe Atlantic Family Live at MontreuxThe Atlantic Family Live at Montreux is a live recording made at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival. It featured the Don Ellis Orchestra together with the Average White Band and guest musicians...
(1977)